HIS use of Twitter is unprecedented, but now Donald Trump has escalated his practice of announcing policy online to an entirely new level amid the US-Iranian crisis.
He said his tweets were ‘legal notice?’
In the wake of his decision to order the killing of Iran’s top general, Qasem Soleimani, Trump used Twitter to say that “These Media Posts will serve as notification to the United States Congress that should Iran strike any U.S. person or target, the United States will quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner. Such legal notice is not required, but is given nevertheless!”
So he told Congress to keep up-to-date via his Twitter?
Having ordered the assassination without giving notice to congressional leaders, his post threatening a “disproportionate” response certainly seemed to advise that following his account would be best to keep up with events.
It wasn’t his first threatening tweet?
On January 4, he threatened to destroy 52 Iranian sites “important to Iran & the Iranian culture”, seemingly not bothered or aware that targeting cultural sites is considered a war crime.
Twitter previously said it won’t suspend him?
US Senator, Kamala Harris, running for the Democratic party’s nomination for President, complained to Twitter in October that Trump’s tweets about the whistleblower - who sparked his impeachment on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress – were a “clear intent to harass, intimidate or silence” their voice, adding that Trump’s “blatant threats put people at risk – and our democracy in danger”.
But Twitter said “context matters” adding that “direct interactions with fellow public figures and/or commentary on political and foreign policy issues would likely not result in enforcement” action.
They had already said this in 2017?
In September 2017, after Trump appeared to threaten the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, on Twitter, saying he “won’t be around much longer”, the company announced that it had begun considering “newsworthiness” when considering whether to take down a tweet.
Trump is tweeting more than ever?
7,700 times in 2019 to his 69 million followers - up from 3,600 tweets in 2018. He set a record on December 12 for the number sent in a single day - 123 tweets, mostly related to his criticism of the impeachment process.
He believes Twitter is vital?
In an interview on Monday night, he said bluntly: “Without Twitter, we’d be lost. We wouldn’t be able to get the truth out."
The President’s tweets are official records?
In 1978, inspired by concerns President Richard Nixon could destroy the tapes that led to his resignation, the Presidential Records Act was introduced to set strict rules, ensuring material related to "constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties of the President" be safeguarded, which would include records kept on electronic platforms such as social media.
So they will be preserved?
The National Archives and Records Administration said in 2017 that his tweets will be preserved for posterity, including those with misspellings and also those he sends and then deletes.
MAUREEN SUGDEN
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